Israeli soldiers forced to remove Bible verse from checkpoint

Wednesday, November 04, 2009 |
Israel Today Staff

Israel National News reports that a group of Israeli soldiers constantly on duty at a checkpoint outside the Palestinian-controlled Samarian town of Nablus have been forced to remove a Bible verse they used to adorn their station after it was deemed offensive to the local Arab population.

The verse used was from Psalm 18, which is a prayer of thanksgiving by King David after God helped him to overtake and destroy his enemies. The portion used by the soldiers read: "I did not return until they were destroyed."

The soldiers explained that they used the verse to refer to their mission to identify and prevent Palestinian terrorists from infiltrating Israel proper.

But an ultra-left-wing Israeli women's group known as Machsom Watch (Checkpoint Watch) insisted that the verse was offending local Arabs who traveled through the checkpoint every day. The army ultimately agreed and ordered the soldiers to remove the biblical reference.

Want more news from Israel?Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates